Chapter 108
CAMILLA’S PO.V
I stood in front of the large double doors that led to my father’s room and I stared. Ryker stood right behind me not saying a single word but he didn’t need to. I was almost certain that he could hear and feel every single thought that was going through my mind at the moment. I slowly slipped the key into the lock and pushed the door open and the first thing that went through my mind was how large the room was.
The bed there could have fit at least five adult people. There was a huge chaise lounge at one end of the room with smaller chairs around it. At another end of the room was a large workspace with books placed carefully over it. The room looked almost spotless and dirt covered every surface. It looked like no one had gone into the room since he died. I had to bury my nose into my elbow to prevent the dust particles from bothering me as I walked in.
“It seems he was very minimalistic,” I drawled as I took in the extravagant nature of the room. It was one fit for a king and despite my sarcastic words, I found the room intriguing.
I immediately went towards the book and picked the first one up. I flipped through the pages hoping to see something useful but it only turned out to be some notes on the palace. It wasn’t anything that could have helped us with what was going on. I flipped through all the books on the desk while Ryker went through the closet but we couldn’t find anything.
“There has to be something here,” I told him as I patted down the bed. “If there wasn’t, my mother wouldn’t ask me to come here. Maybe we just aren’t looking hard enough.”
“That might be a possibility but Camilla, this room is empty. Christine said it was combed through after he died. If anything was here, it might have been taken away and burned with his other things during the cremation. That is the culture, is it not?”
I didn’t want to think of the possibility of him being right but it seemed more believable as the seconds ticked by. I knew we were not going to find anything but I still couldn’t brush off the feeling that there was something in the room. My mother asked me here, not directly anyways and unless I misunderstood her, then I knew that there was something for me to find, I just needed to look through it.
“Okay, wait, let us take a step back and think about this,” I told Ryker and he nodded. He walked over to me so he could give me his undivided attention. “What do we know about my father so far?”
“He was very powerful, he was the king and he was a people person,” I nodded and gestured for him to continue. “I believe he was also very private.”
|||
73%
Chapter 108
“You’re right, she said he would spend days on end in here or in the library. What does that tell us?” Ryker seemed confused so I sighed. “The library is hidden, it is a secret, is there a possibility that he has a secret door in here as well? That might be where he hid all his important things. I know it is a reach but it seems like the only viable explanation.”
Ryker paused for a second before sighing. “That is a possibility but how likely are we to find that secret room or entrance? It will most likely be well hidden and this room is large.”
I thought about it for a second. I knew he was right but I wasn’t willing to give up so easily. I knew asking for help would make it a lot faster but a part of me was worried that the things we would find were not things that I wanted the public to see.
“We can start by using deduction. We don’t know him well enough to make accurate assumptions but I believe that it is a good start,” Ryker offered and I nodded. That was our best option at that point.
“Well he would want to put it in a place that people wouldn’t find but was also very easy to reach. The paintings are too obvious so I think we should scratch those out,” I began and Ryker nodded.
He walked over to the closet. “This would be the next place another would think to look. A secret door inside or at the back of your closet is too predictable. It would have to be within reach but also very unpredictable.”
“The desk is out of the question. I presume he was at it a lot so people would want to cross that off the list as well,” I looked around the room for anything that was out of place and I noticed the bedside table. One of the legs was a little lower than the other. “What about this? It could be from being pulled around.”
Ryker pulled the table out of the way and dropped to his knees. He knocked on the floor a few times before stopping at a particular spot. He shook his head and took out a small pocket knife from his slacks.
“This should be stone but it doesn’t sound like it,” I watched as he used his knife to lift up a part of the ground which turned out to be wood. “I think we found it.”
Inside were scrolls and books. I reached in and picked them out slowly. I was trying my hardest not to rip or damage them considering that they had been away for a very long time. I opened the first page of one of the books closest to me and I realized that it was my father’s writing. I wondered why he kept these hidden but left his other journals out in the open.
“We have a lot of material to cover,” Ryker said as he put everything back in place. “Come on, the quicker we start, the quicker we can get through it.”
Chapter 108
We returned to our rooms and split the material evenly so we could get through it all in half the time. I was going through one of the books which I realized held a lot of details about his powers. He spoke about them and how they felt. Reading through my father’s eyes, I could see just how much of a narcissist he was. He spoke about the first time my mother got her powers and I was shocked to see that he was trying to find a way to rid her of thera because it made him less special.
“Have you found anything yet?” Ryker asked and I shook my head.
“Nothing of importance,” I wanted to tell him about what I was seeing but I felt a nudge in my head as if someone was trying to mind link me so I pulled my wall down.
“There’s a problem in the lower towns,” Christine’s voice immediately filtered into my mind. “That girl that came in before, it looks like someone tried to attack her again. One guard is dead and a few are injured.”
“I thought she was supposed to stay in the palace today so she could be looked over properly?”
“She was adamant on returning so the physician let her go. No one knew this was going to happen.”
“We are on our way.”
I turned to Ryker who was staring at me intently. “Is something wrong?”
“I’ll explain it to you on the way but we have to leave now,” he didn’t contest or ask any more questions, he just got to his feet and rushed out of the room with me.
I didn’t know why but there was a part of me that bonded so well with Alara. We got into the first carriage and within minutes we were already on our way to the towns. I saw the smoke before we got there and everyone was gathered around a house that was currently on fire. Ryker helped me out of the carriage and kept a firm grip on my hand presumably to stop me from running off towards the danger.
“Brief us,” Ryker said immediately one of the guards walked up to us.
He explained how they had taken Alara back home and while guarding her, they had noticed some vampires in the trees. They refused to interact with them for fear of bringing the vampires to the humans but they caught a glimpse of Alara and got upset. They set fire to her house while she was still inside and attacked the guards. They were able to kill two vampires out of the four that attacked but one guard died and the other was bitten.
“Alastair was here then,” I whispered to Ryker. He was the only one I knew who could bite people. Unless I was wrong and there were others then he was present.
Chapter 108
We were led towards Alara’s house, She sat on the floor with a blanket wrapped around her and as soon as she saw us, she bowed her head to the ground.
“Your majesties,” she whispered. “I should not have left. I know that now. I just thought I was doing the right thing.”
“I know,” I assured her then I turned to the guard who was turning a nasty shade of blue, I knelt beside him and ran my hands gently over his hair. I knew there was no way 1 could give him my blood without anyone noticing.
Ryker seemed to realize what was happening because he stood behind me blocking everyone from my view. He slowly handed me the pocket knife and I nicked my finger a little then allowed the blood drip into his mouth. I wiped away all the evidence and stood to my feet.
“Take him to the physician, now! He had a remedy that is guaranteed to cure him in a few days,” the guards rushed to do as Ryker asked while we made our way back to Alara’s house. She was staring at what was left of the house. “Do you have anywhere else to stay?”
She shook her head. “I’m sure I can ask one of the neighbors to accommodate me for a while. I would need to get my bearings back so that I can leave town to start over.”
Ryker went silent and it looked like he was debating something. Finally, he spoke. “You’re coming with us to the palace.”
